@tiagrenouille
XoXoXoXo
Declan would be lying if he said he wasn’t overwhelmed. As awful as it was, the life he had been living was resolute. He was told how to dress, how to behave, who to date; and Robin Locksley, the only woman he ever loved, was dead…. It was a brutal form of truth but that was what he was used to. It made him ache inside and out it slowly, incredibly so, he had begun to heal, to knit back together. He was sure that if you looked closely, you could still see the cracks along the surface. After all, once you were crumpled you were never truly the same again; could never be fully prepared. He was proof of that. He could certainly feel it and if he looked at himself close enough, he imagined he could see it. He hoped no one else looked too closely because it wasn’t something he could just magically explain away.
He had meant to go find a gym. He wanted to work out the anxiety and anger but somehow he found his way to Tiana’s Place. Ultimately, that was the best decision he’d made since he got here. He could smell the delicious smells of food before he even reached the door, his stomach muttering and begging pathetically for some of whatever it was he was smelling. He quickly pulled the door open and stepped inside.
It wasn’t like coming home. Home had never been this warm, this welcoming. Tiana’s place felt better. He sank into a booth and looked around as he reached for a menu. Everything looked delicious and he could tell he’d be coming back here again. He settled happily on the gumbo and contentedly sat back, closing his eyes to listen to the happy hum of cafe patrons as he waited.